Composition containing citronella java oil and use thereof for repelling insects

Abstract

The present invention concerns a composition comprising a specific ethereal oil, which may be used as insect repellent.

Description

[0001]This application is a National Stage Application of PCT / EP03 / 03944, filed Apr. 15, 2003, which claims priority from German Patent Application No. 102 19 109.3, filed Apr. 29, 2002.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention concerns an insect repellent (repellent) against flying, stinging, biting and sucking insects as well as pests of the genus acarina (mites and ticks).[0003]Repellents are chemical substances which have a repulsive activity with respect to insects and arcarina. Practical importance has the use of these repellents in the field of human and veterinary hygiene in order to protect humans and animals from the activity of bloodsucking, stinging and biting pests, which are not only bothersome but also possess the potential to transmit diseases (malaria, FSME, lyme-borreliose and others). Repellents which are to be used and applied directly on the skin must be compatible with the skin, non-toxic, lighffast and sweat fast and they also must be acceptable f...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an active insect repellent which can be applied directly to skin and / or to clothing and / or to other products which surround the user (bed linen, table cloth, tents and other materials) who seeks protection from bites and stings of insects and acarids (in particular ticks) which are either bothersome, harmful or may transmit diseases, on the basis of natural products or products identical to natural products having very low toxicological risks, which furthermore should provide a high activity over a prolonged time.

Problems solved by technology

These products, however, show the following drawbacks:they may contain problematic components, such as for example eugenol in clove oil, which has, in experiments shown mutagenic, carcinogenic and skin irritating activity, or cineol in the oil obtained from eucalyptus globulus, which immediately is able to give rise to tingling exanthemas,they may only show a short term activity, since the ethereal oils evaporate from the skin due to the body temperature, so that reapplication becomes necessary in order to obtain the desired protection,insufficient lightfastness may give rise to photosensitization as well as change of the product before application.

However, these synthetic repellents often do not possess the required sweat fastness, irritate mucus membranes and are furthermore also able to penetrate through the uppermost layer of the skin, so that accumulation in the body may occur, in which connection must be noted that the resulting side effects have not yet been fully established although the general approach is that negative results are to expected.

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